1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a packaging system suitable for shipping and dispensing a plurality of individual products. Specifically, this invention relates to a primary and secondary packaging system designed for the commercial handling, distribution, and domestic dispensing of beverage products.
2. Description of Related Art
The beverage industry, particularly the brewing industry, is faced with a number of limitations that impact the shipping, distribution, and handling of its products. These constraints affect both the commercial and consumer levels of product handling and storage.
The comestible products industry generally utilizes two types of packaging known as "primary" and "secondary" packaging. Primary packaging is used for individual products, whereas secondary packaging holds the primary packages for commercial handling and distribution.
The comestible products industry takes into account numerous considerations when designing packaging, such as quality, structural integrity, optimum size, and the like. For example, an optimum size for individual servings may be governed by law. The geometric shape of the primary packaging is designed to enclose a required volume while taking into consideration the convenience of storing and dispensing the primary packaged goods at the consumer level. Structural considerations arise in connection with the container's ability to withstand compressive forces that may be occasioned when a plurality of secondary packages are stacked during commercial handling. Further, the design must give due regard to the orientation of the primary packaging during commercial handling and the amount of air space in the primary packaging. In the beverage industry, specifically the brewing industry, where primary packages are typically cylindrical, it is desirable that a minimum amount of beverage surface be exposed to the air space when the can or the like is stored, shipped, etc. The exposure to air space can be minimized when the container is maintained in an upright position. Thus, quality preservation may dictate that the primary packaging be arranged in the secondary packaging in an upright orientation.
When dispensing primary packaged products from the secondary packaging at the consumer level, the upright orientation of the primary package is not always desirable. An upright container may not present sufficient surface area to be firmly grasped. In addition, storage space in a household refrigerator is not always ideally suited to having a can or bottle in an upright posture. It can be undesirable for the consumer to have to rearrange the refrigerator shelving to accommodate the presence of the product in its secondary packaging. In many cases, the primary packaging is simply removed from the secondary packaging. The secondary packaging is then discarded or stored elsewhere for later use, such as a container for returning empty primary packaging for recycling. These practices are inconvenient for the consumer, and there is interest in finding alternate methods of dispensing primary packaged products from associated secondary packaging. A number of attempts to solve this problem appear in the patent literature.
Canadian Patent Number 988,477 relates to a secondary packaging carton that utilizes a tear-away flap to open the carton. The flap can be torn away to expose the contents of the carton, which are cans oriented in an upright posture. A significant amount of vertical storage space is required if this arrangement is to be successfully used in a domestic refrigerator.
Other solutions have been advanced in the attempt to overcome the shortcomings that are attributable to the above-mentioned tear-away flap system. Examples include the packaging disclosed in Canadian Patent Numbers 1,006,852 and 1,182,792. In both of these patents, secondary packaging or cartons hold the primary packaging or "cans" serially. The cans are removable from a chute formed in a base portion of the associated carton. These cartons do not permit the consumer to see readily the number of cans remaining inside the carton. Moreover, while this design can handle a relatively small number of cans with relative ease, large numbers of cans present difficulties associated with vertical storage space.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,791,362 discloses a container for a plurality of fragile articles. The container has a one-piece partition member. The container and the partition member are adapted to divide easily in half along pre-scored lines. This construction prevents the partition member from being pulled from the half container when used as a carrying handle.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,983,362 discloses a container adapted to enclose a desired number of articles. The container is broken or split longitudinally to expose the ends of the articles in the container. The articles are rendered accessible for convenient removal from the container and easily reinserted for storage or subsequent disposal.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,018,919 discloses a can carrier designed to hold a plurality of cans evenly divided in two sets or rows. The carrier is constructed so as to be readily separable into two holders with each holder containing half of the cans. The device also has a handle that is also separable into two parts. This structure provides each of the two halves of the carrier, when separated, with its own handle.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,677,458 discloses an end-loading, twin carton that is separable into two cartons. The twin carton has folded handles usable with the twin carton and also with the separated cartons. A blank for the carton is also disclosed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,256,223 discloses a display carton having two compartments that are movable between a carrying and a display configuration. A display panel with a display window opening therein is provided on each of the compartments. The display panels are exposed for viewing when the carton is in its display configuration but not when it is in its carrying configuration.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,471,870 discloses a package comprising a rigid tray member having an upstanding peripherally located rim portion. A plurality of discrete container assemblies are within the rigid tray member. Each container assembly has a plurality of individual containers in a regular geometric array interconnected by a unitary thermoplastic carrier means. A cover shroud overlays the tray and is secured to the tray rim to complete the package.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,249,738 and 5,299,733 both disclose a package formed from a one-piece wrapper. The one-piece wrapper is typically made of carrier board. The carrier board is folded around twenty-four cans or bottles including a top and bottom of the package. The package has cuts or perforations that partially separate the package into two twelve-packs. Each side of the package has at least one tear-strip aligned with the cuts or perforations that complete the separation to form two twelve-packs. The top of the package has a second pair of tear-strips that allows the two twelve-packs to be separated into four six-packs. The wrapper can be folded in such a manner that the two six-packs of each of the two twelve-packs are separated by an individual divider in the wrapper. This divider has a perforated top end that is aligned with the tear-strips. The two sides of the divider are held together by an adhesive. The adhesive allows the six-packs to be separated. The combination of the tear-strips and the adhesive holds the container together in a package of twenty-four cans or bottles that can be divided into two twelve-packs or four six-packs.
There remains a need in the beverage packaging industry for a primary and secondary packaging system that facilitates shipping in a secondary package and dispensing of a plurality of primary packages contained therein for the consumer.